I hate to admit that until this past summer, I had no idea of the vast history of the St. Croix name and just how incredible their fishing rods were. To tell the truth, until this year I have only owned one St. Croix rod in my entire life, and I bought it off my buddy Johnny Judkins of Dardanelle, who had thought he had worn it out. Then, some five or six years later, I passed it along to another buddy, not realizing it was one of the best rods I had ever owned.

In the business for more than 60 years, which is incredible these days, St. Croix Rods continues to put out quality products year after year, and the best part is they stand behind their products, which is easily done as their breakage rate is a fraction of many other rod manufacturers.

One of the great things about being the pro-staff director for Wilkin's Brothers Outdoors (WBO) is getting to attend Icast (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades), which hosts the most incredible display of all the products available in the world of fishing. I was wide-eyed as a kid in a candy store for the very first time as I entered the Las Vegas Convention Center on my first trip to this incredible show.

The best part of my role with WBO is I actually get to go out and test a lot of this equipment on a weekly basis. During the last five years, I have had the pleasure of using a wide variety of rods that have come in all shapes and sizes. Technology has come a long way in the rod industry, and strength and durability have been a few things left behind by some rod manufacturers.

Just a couple of years ago on a simple hook set, I had a rod break in the mid-section and give me one of the best lashings I have had since my grandpa cut his last hickory switch. It left a mark for a few weeks, but where the rod broke was what irritated me the most. It was right in what should have been the strongest section.

Other rods are flimsy around the tip; this is created by the rod design and trying to improve action in the tip of the rod. More and more rod designers are here today and gone tomorrow, which is what makes St. Croix rods so special.

Without boring you with all the technological details - which I don't think I fully understand anyway - the time and effort put into building these rods is simply incredible. At Icast, we were introduced to everyone from the designers to the salesmen and they showed us step by step what separates their rods from many others.

Where I have seen the separation is in using these rods the past year. The feel is incredible and the durability and strength have won this angler over. We all have choices to make when it comes to making rod purchases, but we all want something we have confidence in as well as can count on when that big fish has hooked up on the other end.

Yes, I use a few other rods as well, and I have confidence in those. But I have also quit using a few rods that seem to get returned to the manufacturer way too often. With the cost of everything going through the roof, downtime is not something an angler has to look forward to, or paying shipping and handling costs to get something fixed that should have never broken in the first place.

St. Croix makes rods for not only freshwater (bass fishing) but saltwater and fly-fishing, and in several different varieties and series.

Their most economical yet professional bass fishing line of rods is the Mojo Series rods, which retail for around $100. For more information on these rods and all the other great products from St. Croix, you can visit their website at www.stcroix rods.com.